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Join us on Monday for our coverage of Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into phone hacking live from the High Court.

17.40The New York Times declares Murdoch to be "confident and virtually unflappable" during his 2 hour, 37-minute committee appearance.

In a lengthy analysis of the News International chief's performance, the paper reminds us that not much has changed since July:

Mr. Murdoch was a similarly deft witness in July when he appeared before the parliamentary committee investigating the phone hacking scandal that was riveting the country. Sitting alongside his 80-year-old father then, along with family members and legal representatives, he deflected lawmakers’ questions, maintaining that he had learned only recently how widespread the hacking problem really was.

James Murdoch, his father Rupert and former NotW and Sun editor Rebekah Brooks

17.35 Earlier today he compared News International to the mafia, saying James Murdoch "must be the first mafia boss in history who didn't know he was running a criminal enterprise". Here's Labour MP Tom Watson defending his comments:

Peston himself admits that there was little to go on from today's testimony. He tweets:

Pedestrian blog by me, which will doubtless annoy those who see me as Murdoch enemy & those who see me as Murdoch chum

On the issue of BSkyB's anxious shareholders, he writes:

Since News Corp is not an independent shareholder, Sky's non-execs are likely to turf him out if somewhere around a half of the other shareholders vote for him to go.

Will that happen? Impossible to say - but I understand BSkyB believes there won't be a shareholder rebellion on that scale (although a sizeable number of shareholders will vote against Mr Murdoch).

That said, there was probably little that emerged from today's select committee hearing to change the minds either of Mr Murdoch's supporters or his critics.

16.57 Ian Burrell in the Independent writes that Murdoch comes out of today's hearing with his "reputation scarred".

He says the News International chief looked like an "incompetent manager" as he struggled to fend off questions from MPs, irreparably denting the confidence of investors seeking reassurance about Murdoch's position.

Burrell writes:

He had come to the hearing, heavily rehearsed and dressed respectfully in sober suit, black tie and a poppy in his button hole. Shorn of the need to come to the defence of his elderly father, with whom he had previously given evidence, he began with assertive responses, mercifully free of the management speak which had characterised his earlier responses.

But as he sought to dump the blame for the mishandling of the hacking scandal on two of his juniors – the legal manager Tom Crone and the last editor of the News of the World Colin Myler – Murdoch himself looked increasingly negligent.

It asks whether Murdoch has done enough to win back shareholder confidence and confirm his position as chief executive of NI, saying the complex saga is "like trying to follow several series of 'Dallas' in one go":

On the evidence today it seems unthinkable that he could be unaware that there was more to the case than a single pay-out to a hacking victim. Had he pursued the implications of the matter with due vigour? Mr Murdoch admitted that things ought to have been handled better, though not necessarily by him.

Earlier Louise Mensch, a Tory committee member, had drily noted that Mr Murdoch has so far, at least, kept “coming up empty”. This is largely true: though the man himself may well feel that such a conclusion was preferable to putting his foot in it.

5 of the top 9 Twitter trends in London are #hacking related. And Tom Watson is trending worldwide.

15:50 James Murdoch's repeated apology to victims of News International's covert surveillance operations is not good enough, one of the alleged victims has claimed.

Mark Lewis, one of two lawyers who were allegedly followed by the private investigator Derek Webb, at the behest of the publishing giant, said Murdoch's words were "hollow". He told Sky News:

There were groans of it being mafia-like, but as far as I'm concerned, as far as my family are concerned, it's very like the mafia. If there were groans, they are probably from the mafia saying 'we're not as bad as that'.

15:44 Jack Irvine, a former editor of the Scottish Sun and managing director of News International in Scotland, has been speaking on Sky News about the impact of Murdoch's appearance.

He said the chief executive's statement was proof that he wasn't fit to run the company, particularly as he didn't seem to know what his official title was during the period of negotiation with Gordon Taylor.

Irvine said staff at the Sun newspaper felt there was a "witch hunt" against them. He told Sky News:

The Sun boys are feeling very threatened and demoralised by all of this.

Tom Watson's questions this morning about Neville Thurlbeck arose from a 90-minute meeting at Thurlbeck's home several weeks ago

Thurlbeck's statement, in which he claimed lawyer Tom Crone told him he had told James Murdoch about the full extent of the "for Neville" email, is the latest piece of evidence in the hacking inquiry.

15:28 The commentators are united in their criticism of Murdoch after today's performance.

Robin Brant, political correspondent at BBC News, says the News International chief was "succinct and insistent" throughout, surviving the comparison with a Mafia boss and the allegations that Asda was better run than his company.

But he concludes:

James Murdoch may have come close to clearing his name today on the claim that he knew about the scale of hacking, but the arm of the company he runs has a huge mess on its hands, a mess highlighted in great detail today by MPs. And it is a mess that he is deeply involved in.

The Guardian's Roy Greenslade asks if any of us can really believe Murdoch's hacking story. He writes:

Let's imagine that James Murdoch spoke the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the Commons select committee. I know it's a stretch, but stay with me... In other words, after virtually three hours before the committee, he was unwavering in his defence of his propriety. There had been sins, for which he was duly sorry, but they were not his.

Murdoch faces the Culture, Media and Sport Commons Select Committee

15:16 Tom Harper, investigations reporter at the Evening Standard, has revealed a further twist in the phone hacking tale.

The recording was part of a clandestine operation by Thurlbeck, who is suing NI for unfair dismissal and claims he was victimised as a whistleblower, against his former colleagues in a bid to clear his name.

It is believed to be a tape of a phone conversation with Miskiw, who is said to agree that Thurlbeck had nothing to do with the hacking of PFA boss Gordon Taylor. Thurlbeck tried to give the tape to senior NotW executives in April to prove his innocence, but it was ignored.

Thurlbeck told the Standard:

The News of the World's suppression of this dossier led to two years of lingering suspicion resulting in my arrest. And by depriving News International of the dossier which cleared my name and incriminated others, it led to my unfair dismissal.

I was dismissed because Mulcaire erroneously named me as a person who had authorised him to hack the phones of an individual, who cannot be named for legal reasons. However, he did this in order to protect the real individual on the paper, his very good friend of many years standing.

He said the MPs would now have to decide whether to believe Mr Murdoch or Mr Crone and Mr Myler, adding:

It is plain that the two accounts we've heard, one of them cannot be true.

14:40 Some more reaction on Murdoch refusing to rule out closing down The Sun if he found out hacking had taken place there:

The Guardian's Dan Sabbagh says the revelations were a "real surprise". He tweets:

Already low Sun morale will take a hit after this. Real worry there that other journalists may be given up to cops as email trawl continues.

Deputy editor at the Guardian, Ian Katz, tweets:

Lawyers looked v anxious as James M said he wouldn't rule out shutting the Sun if evidence of #hacking was found there

14:27 Here's a round-up of some of the main points to come out of today's hearing:

• Murdoch said he wouldn't rule out closing The Sun newspaper if its journalists were found to have hacked phones• He claimed lawyer Tom Crone and former NotW editor Colin Myler gave "misleading" evidence to the committee• The NI chief continues to deny his knowledge of the "for Neville" email, saying he never saw it and its full connotations were not discussed• He says he does not recall meeting Myler before June 10 2008, and even at this meeting phone hacking was not discussed.• Murdoch said he did not ask outgoing chief executive Les Hinton about hacking at NotW when he took over in 2007• He said intercepting the voicemails of phone hacking victims' lawyers, allegedly authorised by Tom Crone, was "appalling"• Labour MP Tom Watson accused Murdoch of being a "mafia" boss, while Philip Davies said he was "cavalier" with payoffs

James Murdoch said he wouldn't rule out closing The Sun if hacking was uncovered

14:06Ravi Somaiya, a journalist at the New York Times London bureau, reminds us that there were a few things MPs didn't ask Murdoch about today. He tweets:

MPs did not ask about allegations that Brooks, Coulson paid handsomely after leaving, or mystery exec who hired PIs in 2010/11

He says he's having trouble summoning up any sympathy for Watson, popularly seen as the most dogged MP on the committee, despite allegations that he was tailed by a private investigator at the request of News International. He writes:

After all, it was Watson's political party which in 2000 introduced one of the most comprehensive surveillance systems in western Europe, called the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which makes all of us into potential objects of snooping. The RIP Act codifies the right of state bodies to intercept our email, open our post, listen to our phone conversations and, yes, tail us through the streets, if it thinks we're getting up to something untoward.

It is a little unedifying to watch Watson clamber on to his moral high horse after a newspaper was found to have done to him what his party has already done to loads of other people.

13:39 The committee hearing is finished for the day. Stay tuned for comment and reaction.

13:30 Farrelly grills Murdoch over NI's alleged pledge to pay damages awarded against private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who says he was working on behalf of the NotW at the time. Murdoch says the characterisation of NI's support of Mulcaire is inaccurate.

Farrelly breaks it down:

You were effectively supporting the man who hacked Milly Dowler's phone. Is that right or wrong?

Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire

13:27 The Telegraph's Chief Reporter Gordon Rayner tweets:

James Murdoch says he can't rule out closing The Sun if it is proved to have hacked phones.

When asked if Sun journalists were hacking phones, he refuses to comment.

The Guardian's Dan Sabbagh tweets this:

Incredible, at the dog end of the hearing and J Murdoch suddenly puts the Sun in play. What does he fear emerging? Real surprise.

13:25 Murdoch is asked about the Sun's infamous treatment of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. He apologises, saying:

I'd like to add that voice to successive editors of the Sun, but I'd like to add my voice to that as well. It was wrong to do so. It was 22 years ago and I was far away and a much younger person, and obviously no proximity to it. But I am aware of the hurt it caused and I am very sorry for it.

James Murdoch was 16 at the time.

13:15 Watson is seems to have set up his own inquiry. He is now quoting from a conversation he had with a member of NI staff who told him journalists had received a dictat to dig up information on member of the committee. Watson was told that Brooks took an "irrational dislike to you (Watson)" and "tried to smear you (Watson) as being mad".

13:08 Watson is back centre stage, this time questioning Murdoch about private investigations by and on behalf of News International. He whips out an invoice by investigator Jonathan Reece, apparently paid by News International Supply Company Ltd in 2006, shortly after his release from prison:

Watson: Are you aware of any other private investigators that targeted Prince William?

Murdoch: I'm not aware, no.

Watson: Could you provide us with the activities of investigators John Ross, Alex Leighton and Barry Beardon?

Murdoch: I'm not aware of the individual identities of private investigators that we used.

13:04 The Telegraph's Mark Hughes tweets:

Murdoch apologises to Watson for the surveillance he was put under but adds that surveillance of some subjects is acceptable.

12:57 Louise Mensch asks James Murdoch what he knows about phone hacking victims in the US. Murdoch says he has no knowledge that 9/11 victims were hacked in America.

Mensch: Right, so far you are coming up empty.

The committee sniggers.

Conservative MP Louise Mensch

12:54Mensch: To your knowledge, how many other NI papers have hacked phones?

Murdoch: The investigation is under way and I don't want to pre-judge the outcome of that. As you know, a journalist at the Sun was arrested recently, which is a matter of great concern, but it also shows how seriously we're taking these matters.

12:52 Louise Mensch is on the floor and says she has to leave the committee hearing after her questions to pick up her children from school. "We have children the same age, I think" she says to James Murdoch. "Good luck!" he says.

12:50 Murdoch says he is not incompetent.

12:48Farrelly says Crone's previous statements on the "for Neville" email contradict the evidence he gave to the committee.

Assertions that Mr Crone and Mr Myler said about my knowledge were wrong.

What never happened was Mr Crone and Mr Myler showing me the full extent of the evidence. At the end of the day, those things were not provided to me. I was given sufficient information, and only sufficient information, to increase the settlement offer that Mr Crone and Mr Myler had already been eagerly increasing without my knowledge.

Farrelly hits the nail on the head: "If they're telling the truth, you're not telling the truth. BUt if you're telling they truth, they're not telling the truth."

Paul Farrelly asks James Murdoch if in 2009 he was the only person who still believed it was "one rogue reporter".

When asked why he didn't probe further in 2009, Murdoch says:

I have said that the company relied on those things for too long and I have said that I'm sorry about that

We are determined in the business going forward to ensure that those things don't happen again.

12:41 When allegations emerged about widespread hacking at the NotW in the Guardian in December 2009, Murdoch says he was in Idaho at a conference.

My reaction was to understand whether or not it was true, I received a copy of the article and the allegations made - and I went back to the NotW to see if it was true. The answer came back very strongly to say that investigations had been completed and they were satisfied with the assertions made.

Farelly asks Murdoch a zinger, didn't u ask why Gordon Taylor was not a member of Royal family? First titters in room

Labour MP Paul Farrelly

12:36 Murdoch tells Farrelly he did not know who Gordon Taylor was. He said:

I was aware that people had resigned over these things, two people had gone to jail, one of them was a reporter, but these things were not top of my mind at the time.

Farrelly goes on to ask whether Rupert Murdoch might have asked more questions than his son. Murdoch "doesn't know how to respond."

Gordon Taylor

12:34 Paul Farrelly (Labour) is now asking about Julian Pike's note after the June 10 meeting.

Paul Farrelly: The note clearly says "JM wants to think through options". This raises questions about what these people are telling each other, and whether they were being honest with each other, if hyou're telling the truth.

Murdoch: I don't know what Mr Pike is referring to, whether there was a loose end or something that had to be tied up, I just don't know.

12:28 If you're playing Committee Bingo at home (09.50) you'll be hearing a lot of typical Murdoch phrases:

There's no record of a meeting on 27 May with Mr Myler or anybody else, and I can provide you with documents or anything else that will prove matters to that effect

He's getting all the key words in.

12:26Murdoch is asked: Was it a Tom Crone and Mr Myler show?

Murdoch: I think Mr Crone and Mr Myler were very much driving the agenda around the Taylor litigation.

Colin Myler (left) and Tom Crone

12:24 The Taylor settlement, the News International damages payout to the former head of the Professional Footballers' Association after his phone was hacked,remains a key sticking point for James Murdoch today:

Davies "can't believe" that any "self-respecting CEO" could possible sign off half a million pounds without asking more questions. He's not letting this go:

Davies: What was your rationale for authorising a level up to £500,000?

Murdoch: I don't remember the limit but I think the range that was given to me was that it would be between £500,000 and £1m with damages plus costs.

Davies goes on to say:

It all seems so cavalier to me. For a company that is so successful, I can't understand how you are so cavalier with money. You agree to settle cases with no real cap but a ballpark figure. You agree that a company should have a legal opinion, but you don't even ask to see the opinion when it is written. When you try to explain your cavalier attitude, you say it's just the News of the World, it was such a small part of your organisation.

He tells Mr Murdoch he used to work for Asda - it wouldn't be the same there.

11:55 Damian Collins is questioning Murdoch about the Taylor settlement,the £725,000 News International payout ( £425,000 personal damages and £220,000 costs) to the former head of the Professional Footballers' Association after his phone was hacked,and why he agreed so large a fee without asking more questions:

Murdoch claims not to remember any discussion about elevating the payout. He concedes it was a large amount of money and said in retrospect more transparency would have been desirable.

He goes on to dump on Crone and Mylers again saying:

This was something that was within the responsibility of the editor and legal manager of News Group Newspapers, and it was left to them to manage the issue

11:53 Tom Watson isn't taking any prisoners:

Watson: You must be the first mafia boss in history who didn't know he was running a criminal enterprise

11:51 James Murdoch expresses regret at the "things that went wrong at NotW on 2006:

Things went wrong and the company did not deal with it fast enough. And that's something I'm very sorry for. But I can tell you that when things came to light, the company has acted with great zeal and diligence to improve the processes and make sure that they do not happen again, and work with the police and this committee.

11:49 Watson is reading out a conversation former NotW chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck told him he had with Crone:

Thurlbeck: I looked at it (the Neville email), no Tom, I never received it, I don't know. I'm looking at it and saying that surely somebody must have asked X to do this, X was asked to do so many of these by the newsdesk at the time. So Tom comes to me and I tell him I had nothing to do with it. He tells me that it's gone through X in the office, so clearly News International are culpable, and I'm going to have to show this to James Murdoch. He said is there any way we can get round this? And he says to me, Nev, I'm sorry I've got to show him this. I said Tom, I'm going to lose my job; he said not necessarily.

This is not some vague memory, I was absolutely on a knife edge. Tom took it to him. The following week I said "did you show him the email?" He said "yes I did". Now he can't remember whether he showed it to Mr Murdoch or not. He said "it's alright, it's fine, it's settled.

Murdoch: Mr Watson, I really can't say what Mr Crone and Mr Thurlbeck may have discussed and happy to see that and deal with that, but my recollection is very clear - I remember what I was told at the time and I was not told at the time.

Watson is now asking Murdoch if he's aware what the mafia is:

Would you agree with me that it's an accurate description of NI in the UK?

Murdoch: Absolutely not, I think that's offensive.

Watch Tom Watson: 'News International is like the mafia'

11:47 Paul Waughtweets that Whittingdale is looking uneasy at the 'Watson amubush'.

John Whittingdale MP, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee

11:46 Gordon Rayner tweets from the hearing:

Tom Watson smirking at Murdoch's claims that For Neville email was never shown to him #hacking #notw

11:45 More from Murdoch:

With respect to having now seen the leading counsel's opinion, it would have been better if the whole nature of that opinion and the full extent of it were made clear to me, but none of that was discussed at the June 10 meeting. The only things were discussed were the thigns that Mr Crone and Mr Myler deemed to be sufficient about increasing the amount of the settlement payments to Mr Taylor.

Murdoch: They did not discuss with me wider spread phone hacking, nor did they discuss with me the wider findings of the opinion.

Watson: So having askled for Silverleaf's opinion, you didn't want to know the contents?

Murdoch: Silverleaf's opinion was discussed with me in the context of payments.

11:38 Watson: You said Myler did not show you the "For Neville" email on June 10 - could he have produced it on May 27?

Murdoch: Neither Mr Myler nor I have any recollection of that conversation.

Watson: Mr Pike's statement from Mr Myler's recollection of the May 27th meeting contains the following words (quotes from note) - do you accept that note?

Murdoch: I think it's a good thing to refer to.

Watson: What "cancer" do you think Mr Pike was referring to in the note?

Murdoch: I'm assuming these are with respect to the Goodman allegations and his dismissal claim, and crucially it shows that perhaps he was worried about raising these issues with me, because I would have said get rid of them and I would have said "cut out the cancer", and I think that speaks volumes. It also explains why perhaps I was given a narrower set of facts than I would have liked.

11:35 Watson: Did you mislead this committee, and if not, who did?

Murdoch: No, I did not. It appears that what actually happened here, it was economical. My own testimony has been consistent, I've testified with as much clarity and transparency as I can. And since I testified to you last time I've gone and found out what happened.

Watson: So was it Mr Crone who misled this committee?

Murdoch: As I wrote to you and testified about the evidence they gave to you in 2011, it was inconsistent and I do not believe it. I believe their testimony was misleading and I dispute it.

Tom Watson asked Murdoch about his views on Tom Crone and Colin Myler

11:30Watson says Murdoch had all the information from at least May 27 2008.

Murdoch: No I don't accept that at all, I was given sufficient information at the meeting of June 2008.

Watson: You failed to inform this committee of the 27th May meeting or discussion. Isn't it inconceivable that throughout this two week period you didn't dsicuss either Cron'e memorandum, Silverleaf's opinion or the "for Neville" email?

Murdoch: As I've testified to you, none of those documents were given to me or shown to me at the June 10th meeting or previously, neither Mr Myler nor I recall the 27th May meeting or conversation, and I've testified to you very consistently about my knowledge of wider spread phone hacking and that's what happened. Purely between those days I wasn't in London actually, the week before the 10th June meeting I was in India and then in Hong Kong; I only returned to the UK on June 10th

11:28 Murdoch accuses Whittingdale of putting words in his mouth about the detailed memo Crone allegedly prepared about the Gordon Taylor in another tense exchange.

Murdoch claims he has no recollection of the May 24 2008 meeting with Crone and Myler.

11:26Whittingdale asks Murdoch whether he thinks the committee were right to accuse NI of "collective amnesia". Murdoch answers:

The company moved into an aggressive defence too quickly and it was too easy for the company to do this with all the noise and clamour around the busienss.

A more forensic look would have been something that we could have done, and I could have directed the management of the company to do differently. In hindsight today, I look back at the reaction to the committee's report and I think that was one turning point the company could have made.

11:24 On the subject of wilful blindness, Murdoch is asked: "What do you think was worse, knowing what was going on and being wilfully blind, or not knowing what was going on?"

This is a company of over 50,000 employees globally and appropriately so we rely on executives in different bodies within the company to tell us what's going on. It's impossible to mange every single detail of what's going on.

Gordon Rayner adds:

Murdoch says it was Colin Myler's job to tell him what was going on. #notw was smallest paper in smallest part of News Corp. #hacking

11:23 Tom Watson asks if James Murdoch has been arrested or is on bail. He says no, sounds slightly incredulous.

Murdoch dumping on Myler/Crone from great height. Evidence given to him was "incomplete". Myler "shdve told me" full story

11:14 James Murdoch is being asked about willful blindness by Labour's Jim Sheridan. He answers:

At no point do I think that the company suffered from wilful blindness on my part or on others.

Sheridan: But you claimed not to know, do you think evidence was kept from you?

It's clear to me that in 2008 for example the information I received around the Taylor case was incomplete, and it's also clear to me that in 2009 that the full extent of knowledge within the business as well as with the Met Police was not made clear to me and that's something I am very sorry for

11:11 Gordon Rayner reports:

James Murdoch didn't ask outgoing chief exec Les Hinton about #hacking at #notw when he took over in 2007

11:08 Murdoch is asked about whether he remembers the meeting with Myler at the end of May 2008. He says:

I think you're referring to the note that Mr Pike wrote, and I've now seen that note. In that note it says that Mr Myler says that he spoke to me, not that he met with me. Neither Mr Myler nor I recall that conversation, the only substantive meeting I remember about the matter is the June 10 meeting with Mr Crone or My Myler, although I can't recall whether he grabbed me in the corridor or something for a brief conversation.

11:05 The hearing kicks of with questions about the "for Neville" email and when James Murdoch became aware of its existence. Murdoch is sticking to the line that he knew nothing of the email when the Taylor case was settled. He says:

The nature of the "for Neville" email in so far as it was described as "for Neville", any evidence or suspicion of wider spread wrongdoign, none of this was mentioned to me, including the counsel's opinon that had been sought by them later.

I want to be very clear that no documents were shown to me or given to me before that meeting.

Paul Waugh tweets:

Murdoch says 'for Neville' email was not described to me "in any detail or at all". Curious formulation.

11:00 James Murdoch is here. "James Murdoch (wearing poppy) walks in surrounded by aides. Nods to Mps and we begin," says the Telegraph's Mark Hughes.

10:55 Not everybody is looking forward to this morning's hearing.

Our video team has sent through this footage of some protests outside the Commons, asking for an end to the "Murdoch mafia":

10:52 Chief Reporter Gordon Rayner has some detail on the committee room in which James Murdoch will be grilled:

Editorial staff numbers at The Sun are said to have swollen in recent months as new roles were found for former employees of its sister title.

When the News of the World was shut down during the summer, following a slew of revelations about phone hacking, it was widely assumed that News International would introduce a Sunday edition of The Sun to fill the gap in the market.

But when James Murdoch, the executive chairman of News International, was asked about the idea by MPs on the commons Culture Media and Sport committee in July he told them: “There are no immediate plans for that.”

It was claimed that Brooks, on her resignation as chief executive of News International, received £1.7m in cash, the use of a London office and a chauffeur-driven limousine as part of her severance package.

MPs are expected to grill Murdoch over claims that he authorised the generous payoff for the disgraced formed editor.

Rebekah Brooks resigned at the height of the hacking scandal in July

10:30 In case you missed it last time, here are those crucial clips from Murdoch's evidence that he knew nothing about widespread concerns over phone hacking at the NotW until 2010.

Here's his appearance before the select committee on July 19:

And here's what Tom Crone and Colin Myler told the same MPs on September 6:

10:20 James Murdoch, once the black sheep of the family, faces the most important day of his career this morning. He's come a long way from the tattooed hip-hop rebel who dropped out of Harvard. Our James Murdoch profile by Amy Willis has the details:

When James, now sporting an eyebrow stud and two tattoos including a lightbulb on his right arm, dropped out of Harvard in 1995 after just three terms into a film and history degree, he quickly gained a reputation as the "rebel" of the family.

The reputation was cemented when he was caught sleeping at a press conference during a brief stint as a newspaper reporter in Australia.

10:09 So who is going to be grilling James Murdoch in an hour's time?

The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has 10 cross-party members, and is chaired by Conservative MP John Whittingdale.

According to their tweets this morning, Louise Mensch and Therese Coffey are preparing questions for Murdoch. Tom Watson, meanwhile, is listening to The Clash.

Labour MP Tom Watson is expected to pose the toughest questions to Murdoch

09:50 The Independent has suggested a way to liven up this morning's hearing if you're watching at home: Committee bingo.

Here's a list of some of the key phrases James Murdoch is likely to say:

• Did not have direct knowledge• No recollection• Can you repeat?• Difficult for me to comment• Regret• Not in a position to answer• Happy to supply a written answer• Not to my knowledge• If I can clarify• Documentary information

James Murdoch and his father Rupert answering questions from MPs in July

09:40 Mark Hughes, the Telegraph's crime correspondent, has done a report on Neville Thurlbeck's claims that he warned News of the World editors two years ago that phone hacking was widespread

He writes:

Documents taken from the home of Thurlbeck are said to include a memo he wrote to Colin Myler, the paper’s former editor, and Tom Crone, the ex head of legal, telling them that a senior executive, believed to be Ian Edmondson, the news editor, was involved in phone hacking.

Thurlbeck, 50, is thought to have met with police last Friday where he was asked to consider providing evidence against some of his former colleagues.

However, he has told the Daily Telegraph that he has rejected the offer, believing that the police investigation will ultimately exonerate him.

The offer, however, shows that following the apparent discovery of his dossier detectives now believe that Thurlbeck is potentially more useful as a witness that a suspect.

09.36 Press seats at this morning's committee hearing are going fast. We've got two reporters, Gordon Rayner and Mark Hughes, bringing you the latest from inside.

Just got the 12th and final media ticket for James Murdoch hackgate hearing. Like winning tenner on lottery..

09:27 Here is a timeline of some of the key events in the phone hacking scandal:

2007

• January 26 - News of the World's royal editor Clive Goodman is jailed for four months and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire for six months after they admit intercepting voicemail messages on royal aides' phones. News of the World editor Andy Coulson resigns.

2009

• July 21 - Mr Coulson tells MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee that things went "badly wrong" under his editorship of the News of the World, but insists he knew nothing about alleged phone hacking.

2010

• February 24 - A Culture, Media and Sport Committee report finds no evidence that Mr Coulson knew phone hacking was taking place at the News of the World, but says it is "inconceivable" that no-one apart from Goodman was aware of it.

• January 21 - Mr Coulson announces he is standing down as Downing Street communications chief.

Andy Coulson

• January 26 - Scotland Yard launches a fresh inquiry - Operation Weeting - into the phone hacking controversy after receiving "significant new information" from the News of the World's publisher, News International.

• April 8 - News International admits liability and apologises "unreservedly" to a number of public figures whose phones have been hacked.

• July 4 - Claims emerge that the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler was hacked after she had gone missing. Her family's solicitor Mark Lewis said it offered her parents Bob and Sally false hope that she was still alive.

• July 8 - Mr Coulson is arrested on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption. The NotW's former royal editor Mr Goodman and an unnamed 63-year-old man are arrested over allegations of corruption. All three are released on bail until October.

• July 10 - The final edition of the News of the World signs off with the front page headline: "Thank you and goodbye."

• July 14 - Rupert Murdoch and his son James bow to pressure and agree to join Ms Brooks in giving evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Former News of the World executive editor Neil Wallis is arrested on suspicion of phone hacking.

• July 15 - Ms Brooks announces she has resigned as chief executive of News International.

• July 17 - Ms Brooks is arrested on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption after voluntarily attending a London police station for a pre-arranged appointment. Sir Paul Stephenson resigns as Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

John Yates

• July 18 - John Yates resigns as Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner. Former NotW journalist and phone-hacking whistle-blower Sean Hoare is found dead at his home in Watford, Hertfordshire.

• July 19 - Rupert and James Murdoch, along with Ms Brooks, give evidence to the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

• July 28 - Police tell the mother of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne that her phone may have been hacked by the News of the World.

• August 2 - A 71-year-old man believed to be Stuart Kuttner, former managing editor of the News of the World, is arrested on suspicion of phone hacking and inappropriate payments to police and later released on bail.

Stuart Kuttner

• August 16 - A letter written by Mr Goodman in which he claims phone hacking was "widely discussed" at the News of the World is released by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

• September 6 - Mr Crone and Mr Myler tell the committee that they informed James Murdoch at a meeting in 2008 about an email that proved hacking went beyond a single "rogue reporter" on the News of the World. Mr Murdoch releases a statement denying their claim.

• October 21 - Rupert Murdoch deflects attempts by investors to remove him as chairman of News Corp at the company's annual meeting. He also retains his sons James and Lachlan as directors.

• November 4 - Police arrest a 48-year-old, believed to be Sun reporter Jamie Pyatt, in connection with payments made to police.

• November 8 - The BBC reports that the News of the World paid former police officer Derek Webb to spy on Prince William, the parents of Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe and a host of other high-profile individuals.

09:04 The committee's most dogged interrogator, Labour MP Tom Watson, has already been tweeting about Murdoch's appearance. Last night he posted:

I've got a massive day tomorrow. Should be preparing questions but can't break away from Portal 2 on the xbox.

08:57 Also dominating today's coverage is the revelation by Neville Thurlbeck, the News of the World's former chief reporter, that he gave the paper evidence about phone hacking - but senior managers did not act on it.

He said he gave colleagues a dossier of evidence in July 2009 to show that hacking was still a problem at the newspaper.

The former reporter has also disclosed that he was asked by police to give evidence against his former employers but refused.

Thurlbeck says detectives asked him to become a prosecution witness after seizing documents

Two recent revelations are also likely to shape MPs' questioning later this morning:

In the Financial Times, the focus is on theimpact Murdoch's performance will have on his positionat both News Corp, his father's media empire, and British Sky Broadcasting, its UK satellite affiliate, where shareholders have already shown their failing confidence in the Murdoch family. The paper says he is "fighting for his future":

Mr Murdoch survived a protest vote at last month's news corp annual meeting but faces shareholders of BSkyB on November 29. Some top investors have already called for him to step down as chairman and many will be watching his performance today.

The Guardian devotes most coverage of all the nationals to Murdoch's impending appearance, saying his "career is on the line" as he faces MPs for a second time over the phone hacking scandal. Here's how they cover it in today's paper:

1. When did he first become aware that Michael Silverleaf QC’s opinion in 2008 was that there was “overwhelming evidence” which showed hacking was widespread at the paper?

2. Was he aware that the News of the World’s own chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck had expressed a similar opinion to the paper’s editor Colin Myler and head of legal affairs Tom Crone in 2009?

3. If he was not aware of the opinions of Mr Silverleaf and Thurlbeck, as chairman of the company should he not expect to have been?

4. Did he know that Charlotte Harris and Mark Lewis, two lawyers representing phone hacking clients - and more than 150 people including Labour MP Tom Watson - had been put under surveillance by the News of the World?

5. A 2008 memo from Tom Crone to Colin Myler mentions the ‘for Neville’ email. The memo was, according to Mr Crone, to be used as the basis for Mr Myler’s meeting with James Murdoch a few days later. Does he still insist that he was not aware of the ‘for Neville’ email before he agreed to settle with Gordon Taylor in light of this memo?

6. Does he believe that Crone and Myler have misled him or the committee?

7. In a transcript of their telephone conversation, Myler appears to suggest to Julian Pike, a lawyer acting on behalf of News International, that James Murdoch was waiting for the opinion of Mr Silverleaf before deciding upon whether to pay Mr Taylor. Doesn’t this suggest he saw that opinion before agreeing to settle?

8. Was he aware that the News of the World was using private detectives to follow high-profile figures after he became chairman of NI?

9. Did, as Vanity Fair suggests, his father ask him to step aside as chairman as News International following pressure from his sister?

10. In light of the arrest of Sun reporter Jamie Pyatt, what steps have been taken to ensure that phone hacking and/or payments to police were not going on at that paper too?

Julian Pike's note that states Mr Myler "spoke to James Murdoch" in 2008

Most significantly, he will be called on to answer allegations by the paper's former editor, Colin Myler, and legal affairs manager, Tom Crone, that he was made aware of the crucial "for Neville" email - which showed that phone hacking was more widespread than a single "rogue reporter" - at a meeting in on June 10, 2008.

He will also be questioned over his knowledge of the legal opinion prepared by Michael Silverleaf QC, sent to Mr Crone on June 3 2008, which names three top journalists at the paper who "appear to be intimately involved" in the illegal research done by private investigator Glenn Mulcaire into Gordon Taylor, chef executive of the Professional Footballers' Association.

Murdoch will be asked about his knowledge of compensation the paper allegedly paid to Taylor, allegedly to buy his silence over phone hacking, as well as a note by lawyer Julian Pike, of solicitors Farrer & Co, stating that Myler "spoke to James Murdoch" about the issue at the June 10 meeting in 2008.

These claims directly contradict the evidence Murdoch gave at his last committee appearance, in which he said he was not made aware of widespread concerns about phone hacking at the News of the World until 2010.

08:40James Murdoch, the chairman of News International,will be appearing before the committee at 11am today.

His last appearance was on July 19, when he and his father Rupert told the committee they were not aware of a widespread culture of phone hacking at the News of the World.

Today he is expected to insist that he was not told that the problem went beyond Clive Goodman, the royal reporter at the News of the World, who had already been jailed when James became chairman in December 2007.

James Murdoch speaks to the Culture, Media and Sport committee on July 19

08:30 Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of James Murdoch's appearance before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and the latest from the phone hacking scandal. We'll have all the latest news as it happens. For a thorough catch-up on previous events, see our timeline of the scandal.